NCDMB bars middlemen from NCEC certification

Executive Secretary NCDMB, Felix Ogbe

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The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Felix Ogbe, on Tuesday said the Board has tightened its certification process to stop middlemen and dubious operators from accessing Nigerian Content compliance documents.

Speaking at the Practical Nigerian Content Forum in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Ogbe said the move aligns with the Presidential Directive on Local Content Requirements and has already curtailed the influx of multiple and fraudulent applications for the Nigerian Content Equipment Certificate and other approvals.

The NCEC is a certification issued by the NCDMB to companies in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry to verify that their equipment meets local content requirements. It is part of the strategy to boost indigenous capacity in the sector and is required for participation in certain tenders and bids. The certification is issued to companies that assemble, manufacture, calibrate, or provide equipment for the local oil and gas industry.

According to Ogbe, effective 1 January 2026, all NCECs and similar certifications issued by the board will no longer be transferable, a measure designed to ensure that only duly certified companies participate in industry tenders.

Ogbe said, “In line with the Presidential Directive on Local Content Requirements, the board has adopted measures to prevent middlemen from obtaining NCECs and other certifications. This has led to a reduction in multiple applications from dubious service companies. Effective 1st January 2026, our NCECs and other certificates are no longer transferable. This ensures that entities without NCECs are not admitted into the tendering process.”

The executive secretary outlined key programmes the board is preparing to roll out in 2026, including the Research and Development Fair scheduled for the second quarter and the launch of the NCDMB Technology Challenge in the first quarter.

On human capacity development, Ogbe said the board recently introduced the Oil and Gas Field Readiness Training Programme for the top 10 skills in high demand, aimed at improving job placements for participants.

“So far, we have received over 11,000 applications for the Field Readiness programme,” he said.

He listed major industry projects currently being monitored by the Board as SNEPCo’s Bonga North Tranche 1, Renaissance EPU Phase 3 Development, TotalEnergies’ Ubeta Gas Development, the NNPC AKK pipeline, the OB3 Gas Pipeline, ELPS Phase 3, the Odidi–Warri Expansion, and NLNG Train 7.

Ogbe also highlighted ongoing efforts under the board’s Back-to-Creek initiative, which targets improved STEM education in rural Niger Delta communities.

He said the board is collaborating with Niger Delta state governments to renovate primary schools and equip selected secondary school hubs with modern science, technology, mathematics and ICT facilities.

“A team has completed feasibility studies and site assessments across selected schools and submitted their reports. Our interventions to enhance educational quality must continue,” he noted.

Speaking, the Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Olu Verheijen, said her office values the collaboration with the NCDMB in advancing the reform agenda of President Bola Tinubu.

According to her, the energy landscape is shifting across Africa as capital is more selective and project economics face global competition.

Verheijen disclosed that investors are demanding speed, reliability, and clarity of execution, stating, “In this environment, local content is not a patriotic slogan, it is an industrial strategy. It must unlock value, reduce cost, shorten timelines, and boost national competitiveness. And above all, it must deliver projects at scale.

“This is why the Presidency has pushed hard on efficiency and reform. Directives 41 and 42 were deliberately designed to eliminate friction, reducing contracting costs and timelines, cutting out rent-seeking, and shifting the perception of Nigeria from a high-risk jurisdiction to one of the most attractive upstream destinations on the continent. These reforms are already bearing fruit: Nigeria secured three out of the four major FIDs in Africa in 2024, positioning us in the top quartile among 14 global jurisdictions in competitiveness.”

As the country charts the path toward building a resilient, competitive industrial base, she advised that the country be intentional and not incidental about in-country value addition.

“We must target specific segments where local capacity, skills, and industrial infrastructure can be developed, rather than settling for surface-level or token participation. In doing so, we position our country not just as a resource exporter but as a hub of production, innovation, jobs, and industrial value.

“Equally important, we must acknowledge one of the most powerful symbols of Nigerian content in action: the historic transfer of onshore assets from IOCs to indigenous operators. This transition is more than a corporate reshuffling, it reflects decades of accumulated local capability, technical maturity, and domestic capital formation. Today, Nigerian companies are not only taking over these assets, they are optimising them, investing in technology, restoring production, and strengthening community and security relationships in ways that were not previously possible. This is Nigerian content at its most tangible expression: Nigerian expertise managing Nigerian assets to deliver Nigerian value,” she said.

The special adviser mentioned that since the NOGICD Act was enacted, in-country value retention had grown tenfold, from 5 per cent to 56 per cent.

“And these are more than macro indicators, they are jobs, technology transfer, and new business models. Every fabrication facility, vessel, or modular refinery represents families lifted, capability expanded, and communities integrated into global value chains.

“As Nigeria enters a fresh wave of upstream investment, with Shell and TotalEnergies committing to HI, Bonga North, and Ubeta, this is the moment to deepen local capacity and remove the last remaining barriers to speed and execution. We are clear about our national ambition: three million barrels of oil and 10 bscf/day of gas by 2030. To unlock the projects that get us there, regulators must become accelerators, not checkpoints; financing must become more innovative; and the Nigerian Content Intervention Fund must scale its ambition and its impact,” she advised.

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